He wanted to marry her. The knowledge of it stunned him into stillness. The thought had been circling over the past few days and had now surfaced. Good Christ, he was in love with her! Taking another breath, he continued to study her face and with the revelation came the knowledge that he did not really know anything about her.
She had told him about her parents but never suggested him meeting them. When he casually spoke about her meeting his mother, she had balked at the idea. He understood her reluctance to take that step, because it was a big one. But he wanted to.
And after this trip, after they returned home, he was going to push her again. Surely, she cared about him too. Even if she was not in love with him yet, she was close. There was no wayshe could exhibit that amount of emotion if her heart wasn't involved.
With a satisfied smile, he snuggled against her and dropped off.
*****
He took her shopping that afternoon at the Galeries Lafayette Champs-Élysées. He was willing to sit and wait as the eager sales associates in their sleek wear came and selected outfits for her to try on. Champagne was served in slender flutes along with fruits and delicate pastries. They were given a private room and showed the utmost respect.
Melanie felt herself preening as she received envious looks from the beautiful women handing her clothing to try on. She also realized that there were no price tags. Black cocktail dresses, chic skirts suits in jewel colors, expertly cut pants suits and leather jackets so soft, they felt weightless. When she told him it was too much, he waved her protests away and asked the sales associates to bring perfume.
And he was far from through. He tirelessly took her to Romano's and ALE Paris, the luxury vintage boutique, for more purchases.
"We'll have dinner at the hotel." He announced when she felt ready to drop from exhaustion.
"When am I going to have time to wear all of these clothes?" She demanded as soon as they were inside the car.
"I went overboard."
"You think?"
Leaning over, he tugged at her chin and kissed her roughly. "I want to give you the world."
"Rodney--"
"And you're going to allow me to." He kissed her again before starting the engine. "We'll have a meal at one of the restaurants at the hotel and I'm afraid I'm going to have to leave you to wander around while I attend a meeting. It won't be long, I promise."
They were treated like royalty at his hotel, with the manager rushing forward to greet them. Pierre Aveline was a superbly dressed man with a slender pointed face and raven black hair and was very charming and eager to please. He gallantlycommented on her beauty in precise English and personally attended to their menus.
The Coq au Vin was so delicious, she had to stop herself from asking for seconds. Rodney laughed when she wrinkled her nose and shook her head when Escargots was offered.
"It's a French delicacy and quite delicious." He assured her.
"It's snails." She retorted. "And no amount of garlic butter or whatever is going to change that. The answer is still no."
"You're going to offend the chef."
"He's just going to have to get over it."
Turning to the hovering waiter who was standing at attention slightly behind their table, Rodney spoke in flawless French and had the man bowing away.
"What did you say?"
"That mademoiselle is too scared to try anything new." His eyes twinkled at the look on her face. Tilting her chin up, he kissedher mutinous mouth. "I told him that you're not ready to explore the unknown."
"It sounded like you were saying much more than that." She said suspiciously.
He chuckled and kissed her again before picking up his wine. "I told him to go away because I wanted you all to myself."
"You did not."
"Something to that effect." He looked around the crowded space, sharp eyes noticing the décor and looking for flaws. He had not informed anyone that he was coming as the trip was an impulse but was pleased to notice the standard was still the very best. He was going to make a note to compliment Pierre on maintaining it.
He was about to turn back to her, when he noticed a familiar face.
"Hailey." His expression was one of delight as his smile widened. Turning her head, Melanie felt the spike of sharp envy and jealousy as she stared at the woman gliding towards them. She was wearing a turquoise pantsuit that seemed to slide over her very shapely body like a lover's hand. And she was stunning.
